A Study of Ethnocentrism and the Variable of Cross-Cultural Interaction

Abstract

Ethnocentrism is a belief that one’s own culture is superior to other cultures. It is a phenomenon that exists in cultures worldwide and has been studied by professionals in a variety of fields including psychology, anthropology, ethnography, and sociology. Ethnocentrism has been thought to be a primary human behavior inhibiting international communication, cooperation, and peace efforts. Many proposed theories concerned with overcoming ethnocentrism state that cross-cultural interaction and exposure to other cultures in their cultural setting will diminish ethnocentric attitudes through familiarization, participation, and identification with the target culture. These theories were tested by collecting and analyzing surveys measuring ethnocentrism collected from Carroll College study abroad students as well as a randomly selected student population.